Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel’s most wanted man.
Israeli leaders celebrated his killing as a settling of scores, just over a year after Hamas-led militants surged out of Gaza into southern Israel in an attack that stunned the country. They also presented it as a moment for Hamas to surrender and release some 100 hostages it still holds captive.
Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Our war has not yet ended.†Besides seeking the release of hostages, Netanyahu has said Israel must keep long-term control over Gaza to ensure Hamas does not rearm — opening the possibility of continued fighting.
For Hamas, Sinwar's death is a crippling blow, but it has continually proven resilient during the war. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas of Sinwar's death.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant addressed Hamas fighters, saying it “is time to go out, release the hostages, raise your hands, surrender.â€
U.S. President Joe Biden called Sinwar's death a “good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,†comparing it to the feeling in the U.S. after the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. He said he would talk with Netanyahu "to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all.â€
Sinwar has been Hamas’s top leader inside the Gaza Strip for years, closely connected to its military wing while dramatically building up its capabilities. He was elevated to Hamas's highest spot in July after his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran.
In the past months, Israel has eliminated a string of senior figures from Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah with airstrikes. Israel has claimed to have killed the head of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike, but the group has said he survived.
But in Sinwar's case, troops found him by chance.
An Israeli military official said that Sinwar "engaged in combat†with Israeli troops operating in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, and was spotted running into a building. The army struck the building with tank fire.
The army had suspected a number of top Hamas officials including Sinwar were in the vicinity, but Sinwar was not the target of that day's specific operations, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules.
Visiting the site of the killing, Israel's army chief Herzi Halevi said that while the military had conducted “many special operations in this war where we had excellent information .... Here, we didn’t have that and the response was very, very strong.â€
Photos circulating online showed the body of a man resembling Sinwar with a gaping head wound, dressed in a military-style vest, half buried in the rubble of a destroyed building. The security official confirmed the photos were taken by Israeli security officials at the scene. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.
The military said three militants were killed in the operation. Police said one of them was confirmed as Sinwar by dental records and fingerprints, and DNA tests were ongoing. Sinwar was imprisoned by Israel from the late 1980s until 2011, and during that time he underwent treatment for brain cancer – leaving Israeli authorities with extensive medical records.
Netanyahu said Israel had “settled its account†with the man behind the Oct. 7 attack. But he added, “Today evil has suffered a heavy blow, but the task before us is not yet complete.â€
He said it was an “important moment in the war†to bring home the hostages and that anyone in Hamas who surrendered weapons and assisted with hostage's return would be allowed to leave Gaza safely.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza to eliminate Hamas after the militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 others. Some 100 captives are still inside Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says women and children make up a little more than half of the fatalities.
On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit a school sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing at least 28 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Fares Abu Hamza, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency unit in the north, said the dead included a woman and four children, correcting an earlier report of five children. He said dozens of people were wounded.
The Israeli military said it targeted a command centre run by Hamas and Islamic Jihad inside the school. It provided a list of around a dozen names of people it identified as militants who were present when the strike was called in. It was not immediately possible to verify the names.
Israel has repeatedly struck tent camps and schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza. The Israeli military says it carries out precise strikes on militants and tries to avoid harming civilians, but its strikes often kill women and children.
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Sami Magdy reported from Cairo. AP writers Jack Jeffery in Jerusalem and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, contributed to this report.
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an “innocent†couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough, and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell Â鶹´«Ã½ at least one other – Marie-Claude Bibeau – doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
One Direction pop star Liam Payne died of multiple traumas and internal bleeding after plunging from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, prosecutors said on Thursday, adding an initial search suggested the fall came after substance abuse.
Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel’s most wanted man.
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) has released a statement in response to a recent CTV W5 investigation into an alleged sexual assault in 2014.
According to Google search data, the top Halloween costumes trending in Canada include everything from Taylor Swift for kids to the Joker and Harley Quinn for couples.
Police are investigating a fire at a home in Dorval owned by Emile Benamor, the owner of the two Old Montreal buildings that were allegedly set on fire in the past year, killing nine.
Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
A Montreal business owner will have to pay a hefty fine after he imported a luxury watch without declaring it to customs.
Some doctors in Ottawa say the pile of paperwork they're doing every day has been steadily growing as more public service workers seek doctor's notes in order to receive accommodations to work from home.
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an “innocent†couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Police are investigating a fire at a home in Dorval owned by Emile Benamor, the owner of the two Old Montreal buildings that were allegedly set on fire in the past year, killing nine.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Israel's killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip 'ends a reign of terror.'
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
An intoxicated person living on Highway 17 in Spragge, Ont., has been arrested for making repeated false 911 calls in a span of several hours Oct. 11.
For months, frustrated American officials looking to end the war in Gaza have mused quietly about the one scenario they believed could loosen deadlocked ceasefire talks: the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar,
Yahya Sinwar masterminded an attack on Israel that shocked the world, unleashing a still-widening catastrophe with no end in sight.
A Georgia grand jury has indicted both a father and son in a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder.
Global finance leaders face a major uncertainty as they meet in Washington next week: Who will win the U.S. presidential election and shape the policies of the world’s biggest economy?
A new fire station in central Germany, which was destroyed in a fire, causing millions of euros in damage and destroyed equipment did not have a fire alarm system, local media reported Thursday.
Mitch McConnell said after the 2020 election that then-U.S. president Donald Trump was 'stupid as well as being ill-tempered,' a 'despicable human being' and a 'narcissist,' according to excerpts from a new biography of the Senate Republican leader that will be released this month.
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough, and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell Â鶹´«Ã½ at least one other – Marie-Claude Bibeau – doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says it's very disturbing that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre won't get the top-level security clearance needed to view classified documents on foreign interference.
The representative plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against Canada are urging First Nations chiefs to accept a landmark $47.8-billion child welfare reform deal.
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Health Canada released an advisory Wednesday warning that baby walkers available online may pose a risk of injury and reminding consumers the items are already banned in Canada.
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At the heart of the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, carved into pink sandstone cliffs, lies an elaborate monument known as the Khaznah, or the Treasury. And buried beneath that edifice, archeologists recently discovered, is a tomb with at least 12 human skeletons and artifacts that are estimated to be at least 2,000 years old.
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The death of Liam Payne, who shot to stardom as a member of the boy band One Direction and grappled with intense global fame while still in his teens, sent shockwaves across the world Thursday as Argentine authorities continued their investigation at the scene.
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Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Meta says it has laid off some employees, including staff at WhatsApp And Instagram, to realign its resources with its “strategic goals.â€
Dozens of people rallied outside the Michigan headquarters of WK Kellogg Co. Tuesday, demanding that the company remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals in the U.S.
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According to Google search data, the top Halloween costumes trending in Canada include everything from Taylor Swift for kids to the Joker and Harley Quinn for couples.
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Canada’s border guards have seized more than 1,900 stolen cars so far this year at railyards and ports, which is over a hundred more than in 2023.
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A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an “innocent†couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) has released a statement in response to a recent CTV W5 investigation into an alleged sexual assault in 2014.
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough, and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell Â鶹´«Ã½ at least one other – Marie-Claude Bibeau – doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
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STARS Air Ambulance and Craik RCMP were called to a serious collision on Highway 2 west of Chamberlain, Sask. on Thursday afternoon.
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Following the debate between Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe and NDP Leader Carla Beck, two local experts gave their insights on the event.
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
One person has been taken to hospital with life-altering injuries after a serious crash near Cambridge.
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an “innocent†couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
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The Prince Albert Police Service is investigating after unidentified human remains were found in the city.
A former Saskatchewan rapper turned political candidate apologized Tuesday for lyrics that the incumbent Saskatchewan Party has criticized as misogynistic.
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an “innocent†couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
An intoxicated person living on Highway 17 in Spragge, Ont., has been arrested for making repeated false 911 calls in a span of several hours Oct. 11.
One Direction pop star Liam Payne died of multiple traumas and internal bleeding after plunging from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, prosecutors said on Thursday, adding an initial search suggested the fall came after substance abuse.
OPP have closed a section of road in Middlesex County following a crash.
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Two roads in Bradford West Gwillimbury will close for nearly two months as part of a $17.4 million project to reconstruct and rehabilitate local roads.
Windsor police are investigating shots fired in a quiet east Riverside neighbourhood.
Closing arguments are complete in a careless driving trial in Chatham.
LaSalle police say they have identified the youth responsible for writing a threatening message in a bathroom at Sandwich Secondary School.
John Cantin vividly remembers opening day for his Victoria diner. Stress levels were high, tables were full, and one of the most popular menu items couldn’t be freed from the unyielding grip of the waffle maker.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia say they have seized a dog and will be recommending criminal charges against its owner after it was dragged behind a vehicle in the province's Interior.
Elections BC says a record number of British Columbians have already cast their ballots in advance voting before Saturday's provincial election.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
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Health-care advocates say the province's plan for a new primary care agency, operating separately from Alberta Health Services, won't help with doctor shortages in Lethbridge.
The Vancouver Giants scored late to force overtime before winning 4-3 over the Lethbridge Hurricanes Friday night.
A 21-year-old who was already on probation has been charged after an armed intruder entered a victim's home early in the morning Oct. 11 in the Town of Spanish.
The Ontario Medical Association, which represents the province's 43,000 physicians, medical students and retired physicians, launched their Stop the Crisis initiative Wednesday.
An effort to bring a deep-sea port to Sault Ste. Marie just got a major push forward, with support from the federal government Wednesday.
A five-hour drive from St. John's, N.L., and well off the beaten path, Point Leamington seems an unlikely spot for a one-of-a-kind tourist attraction.
A Conservative MP from Newfoundland and Labrador says some small towns in his rural riding are overrun with crime, but police say they haven't received reports to that effect.
As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk.
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